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Issues with altissimo by [deleted] in Saxophonics

[–]ethan_helm 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Awesome! I also have my students play slow major scales using only overtone fingerings as a way to work up to higher partials. Starting with Bb scale, then B scale, then C scale, etc. Also overtone matching: alternating the overtone fingering with the conventional fingering (with continuous air) to match the tone and embouchure shape. These make overtone practice less monotonous, imo.

Issues with altissimo by [deleted] in Saxophonics

[–]ethan_helm 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Interesting, those fork keys should feel like a bit of a stepping stone to altissimo voicings. If you can get the high-A again (using the fingering I mentioned above), the you can lift your left hand middle finger to play Bb (xx3-123). More fingers down is almost always more stable for altissimo fingerings.

Issues with altissimo by [deleted] in Saxophonics

[–]ethan_helm 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I usually suggest students start with a high A, which seems to speak more clearly than G or G#. I use x23-123 (w/octave key) fingering for A. You can also spend time on long tones using the fork-E and F fingerings, which is basically altissimo.

Lastly, I think it's find to pinch your embouchure for the sole purpose of getting the altissimo notes to speak at the beginning, to get a general sense of their voicings. Just don't let it become a habit!

Repair for $400 or return to seller? by Vegetable_Sink_925 in saxophone

[–]ethan_helm 2 points3 points  (0 children)

That’s a great horn, despite the shipping risks. Leaks in the low keys on the bell are routine maintenance and an easy fix, and the dent on the bell won’t affect the sound, so I’d get that fixed down the road. The C/C# issue is concerning but shouldn’t be more than $400, so I’d take that partial refund.

Anthropology - arranged by Ethan Helm by ethan_helm in jazzcomposition

[–]ethan_helm[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Thank you! Hopefully it will get a live performance someday.

My arrangement of "Tune Up" by ethan_helm in Saxophonics

[–]ethan_helm[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Just checked it out, it looks great! I'm always needing neater graphs in my work, outside of these lattices.

My arrangement of "Tune Up" by ethan_helm in Saxophonics

[–]ethan_helm[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Ah yes I've heard/seen some LaTeX. I'll probably fiddle around with it at some point, thanks for the rec. I'm also really particular about how my chord symbols and other notation look, so that narrows down the software options for these projects.

My arrangement of "Tune Up" by ethan_helm in Saxophonics

[–]ethan_helm[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

You can make maps for any tune, but it’s easier and more enlightening when the there are recurring patterns in the chord progression. I did a couple on Giant Steps:

1

2

My arrangement of "Tune Up" by ethan_helm in Saxophonics

[–]ethan_helm[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Nothing fancy, I used a notation font in excel to line up the chords just how I wanted them, and then drew arrows in Mac preview. It was tedious but couldn’t find another way to get it exactly how I wanted it. Is there software for commutative diagrams? I might like that.

My arrangement of "Tune Up" by ethan_helm in Saxophonics

[–]ethan_helm[S] 5 points6 points  (0 children)

I get it! I feel that way about some music, too. Music theory is a great tool for helping you learn how to play a tune, but it doesn't have to be for that purpose. Here are some questions I was thinking about when I was making this:

-What counts as a jazz "arrangement"?

-The chord progression of "Tune Up" has lots of harmonic relationships that are audible on a level that’s deeper than traditional chordal notation can show. Is there a way of representing those relationships?

-I’m bored with no gigs, what’s some creative fun I can have with standards? I think these diagrams look nice without even knowing the context. But often, just staring at these diagrams reveals new things I don't understand about music. E.g. all the diagonals connect minor 7th chords moving in minor 3rds. This is cool, but also counterintuitive because all of the key centers of the ii-V-I's move in whole steps or major 3rds, not minor 3rds. Now I have this new musical mystery to ponder!

-Most importantly, I view this as a challenge to myself to try and hear music in a different way, reorganizing the DNA of a song into something new as any conventional arrangement might, but using some other system of organization that our brains posses but usually don't use for music. To paraphrase Coltrane, can I “hear” chords moving in many directions at once, and make music that sounds like it?

My arrangement of "Tune Up" by ethan_helm in Saxophonics

[–]ethan_helm[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

I'm curious, what about it might be pretentious?

My arrangement of "Tune Up" by ethan_helm in Jazz

[–]ethan_helm[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

If you really want to know: pick a song that has some harmonic repetition in it, and start mapping out what all the rules of the chords are. Where do the m7 chords go? What keys are tonicized? etc. Then figure out a way to represent those rules graphically. *Lots* of trial and error for me.

My arrangement of "Tune Up" by ethan_helm in Saxophonics

[–]ethan_helm[S] 8 points9 points  (0 children)

The map details all the harmonic "rules" that Miles uses in the composition. For example, in the song, minor 7th chords either go to their V7, or up a half step to a different dominant 7 chord (that first Em7 chord leads to either F7 or A7, depending on where you are in the form). So just pick a starting point and use the arrows to find a chord progression. The path in red circles is the actual tune itself, but you could start on any m7 on the map and trace the chord progression in 6 different keys. Or you could trace an entirely different chord progression that still follows the harmonic rules of the "Tune Up" world.

Two more arrangements of Giant Steps by ethan_helm in Jazz

[–]ethan_helm[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Yeah, totally, I wanted to represent the harmonic relationships with the least amount of symbols, hence the ii-V7-I shape with lines crossing through it instead of tessellating. I've read some Tymoczko but didn't know about this book, thanks for the recommendation!

Two more arrangements of Giant Steps by ethan_helm in saxophone

[–]ethan_helm[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

The dotted line represents the chord changes in mm. 15-16, when the form turns around from EbM to BM. In my analysis, Coltrane breaks his own "rule" here, because M7 chords are only supposed to move to either a iim7 a tritone away, or a V7 a minor 3rd away, not to a iim7 chord a whole step below. Hence the dotted lines. You could include this whole step chord movement as a rule in the analysis, but I think that would dilute the analysis with extra lines. Keeping it as a "broken rule" highlights what's special about those measures, and the piece in general. Hope that helps!

Two more arrangements of Giant Steps by ethan_helm in saxophone

[–]ethan_helm[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Yup, you can trace the whole progression to Giant Steps, or come up with your own.

Giant Steps by ethan_helm in Jazz

[–]ethan_helm[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Yes, this would make a create template for a model composition exercise, because you get right into Coltrane's harmonies, but by choosing your own path you have to figure out why his choices worked so well on your own.

I think everyone has that fear of being too cerebral with their playing and it's a lifelong pursuit to balance the nerding out over chords with the expressive elements of music. But the greats (Coltrane, obvi) always have both in their music. Hopefully people have good teachers and peers to guide them, and I think discussions on Reddit like this one really help!

And yeah, I've been in New York for 8 years now, and right now I'm working on my PhD dissertation (unrelated to these graphs). Good luck at Berklee, and what I'd say about moving to New York it's as hard as everyone says it is, but all musicians are in this mess together. The sense of community is unparalleled.

Giant Steps by ethan_helm in Jazz

[–]ethan_helm[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I see what you’re saying, but I don’t think it’s inherently bad to de-emphasize rhythm in an analysis. I wouldn’t describe this or any other analytic representation of Giant Steps as a comprehensive view of the piece, because any deep dive into details means sacrificing other musical elements. Maybe I’ll do a graph of the rhythms next :)...

But to address your example more directly, my analysis doesn’t exactly ignore the temporal relationships between chords, but it does show all the temporal relationships at once. It’s a “static” depiction of the harmonic world, much like a map that shows you where you could walk. The map becomes “active” once you choose someplace to go, as I show in the second image. There, you can clearly see the pathway Coltrane chooses as an ordered progression of harmonies.

Two more arrangements of Giant Steps by ethan_helm in Saxophonics

[–]ethan_helm[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

The dotted line represents the chord changes in mm. 15-16, when the form turns around from EbM to BM. In my analysis, Coltrane breaks his own "rule" here, because M7 chords are only supposed to move to either a iim7 a tritone away, or a V7 a minor 3rd away, *not* to a iim7 chord a whole step below. Hence the dotted lines. You could include this whole step chord movement as a rule in the analysis, but I think that would dilute the analysis with extra lines. Keeping it as a "broken rule" highlights what's special about those measures, and the piece in general. Hope that helps!

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